Chapter 07: A Delicate Position, Part 2

JUNE 3, 2005

SOOKIE POV

“Here you are Mrs. Fortenberry?” I smiled as I set down my Gran’s friend’s order.

Of course, that smile was forced—as were most of my smiles nowadays.

As Maxine sneered at me, I read from her mind that she’d sat in my section only to get a better look at my midsection, which had, thankfully, begun to “show.” Considering that I was trying to make people believe that I was a month further along in my pregnancy than I actually was, my increasing waistline and bust-size were welcome. As always, Mrs. Fortenberry’s judgment of my “loose moral character” flowed as if through a sieve in her brain—a sieve that filtered out anything good related to me. Her more innocuous thoughts denounced me as a slut. The truly hurtful ones related to being glad that Gran hadn’t lived long enough to see what I’d turned into.

Sadly, a part of me agreed with her.

For about five seconds back in March—right after Quinn had left my home—I’d hoped to keep my “maybe” pregnancy to myself—at least for a while. But Quinn had informed the people of Bon Temps about my “whorish ways” before I’d actually known if I was carrying a child or not. On the very day that I’d lied to him about my mythical anonymous one-night stand, he’d stopped at Merlotte’s on his way out of town.

Apparently, he’d said some disparaging things about me in front of Sam, who decided to defend me by getting into a fight with Quinn. By the time the altercation was over, several tables had been smashed, and Quinn had yelled out a variety of “facts” about my character.

I honestly hadn’t been surprised to learn that the rumor mill had been stirred up by Quinn. But a part of me had been startled by just how far he’d been willing to smother my reputation into the mud.

I closed my eyes for a moment. That day last March, Quinn had followed through with his errand of getting me a pregnancy test. Luckily, I’d been able to use a blue highlighter to create a plus sign that Quinn accepted with only a glance in its direction.

Clear, blue, and easy—indeed.

Not surprisingly, Quinn didn’t want to stick around after the stick had proclaimed me to be pregnant with a child that couldn’t mathematically be his—thanks to a blue highlighter.

After the positive result, Quinn’s mind had been full of a torrent of slurs about me. And he had decided right then and there to paint me in the worst light possible for de Castro and throughout the Supe community. He figured that if he portrayed me as a slut who moved from one man to the next, then de Castro would understand why he couldn’t fulfill his mission. After all, how could poor Quinn be expected to knock up a woman who had already been knocked up with an anonymous man’s baby?

Poor Quinn, indeed!

Clearly, I’d used the victimized weretiger for his body and then had immediately moved on to the very next “dick” that I came across.

After I’d given him chlamydia, of course.

I shuddered when I thought about getting the results of the STD test Dr. Ludwig had performed on me. Luckily the disease Quinn had given me was treatable and likely wouldn’t be passed along to my child. I took a deep breath and said a prayer, knowing that things could have been so much worse.

Not surprisingly, Quinn had shouted from the Supernatural rooftops that I was the one who had passed the venereal disease along to him. Luckily, that particular rumor hadn’t reached human ears.

But that didn’t mean that the residents of Bon Temps didn’t have plenty of bad things to believe about me.

It was funny—and not in a good way—how everyone in the town I’d spent my whole life in had so quickly bought Quinn’s rant about me. Hell! Even my own brother, who had slept with more women than I cared to imagine, had come to Merlotte’s during my very next shift after Quinn’s exit from my life in order to confront me. He’d slapped me as hard as I’d ever been slapped.

It was funnier still—and still not in a good way—when Jason had called me a “slut” and told me that Gran would have been ashamed of me.

I figured it was better to know who had my back and who was ready to stab it.

As it turned out, it was really difficult for me to find people in the first category.

It also turned out that I didn’t even need a real pregnancy test. After Quinn had gone, Bill “visited” my home almost every night—despite what he referred to as the “disparaging remarks about my reputation.” A few days into April—right around the time I was hoping that my period would begin—Bill took a deep whiff of me and made a horrifying discovery.

“So it’s true!” he’d said. “Quinn was telling the truth about you!”

Sure—why not. I had been ready to admit anything at that point—as long as no one knew my child’s real paternity.

Of course, it was also true that Bill hadn’t mentioned the whole bonding thing—though I could certainly still feel his emotions. He was disgusted by my loose morals.

He felt as if I’d been ruined somehow.

But he still seemed to haunt me, and I felt his desire to possess me.

I also felt some true affection from him.

And guilt.

However, since Bill refused to be upfront about the bond, I didn’t let on that it had “taken” effect. And I’d chosen not to accept his “social calls” anymore. Pregnancy was a funny thing—”convenient” in unexpected ways. And I quickly learned that it could be used as an excuse to get out of almost anything. Pretending that my morning sickness came on at night had been enough to discourage Bill’s visits.

Meanwhile, I chose to inform myself about bonds. A call to Amelia had yielded some information, and she promised to do additional research for me. But vampires were a secretive bunch. I’d thought about calling Eric, but I knew that wouldn’t be fair to him.

He’d moved on. And I didn’t blame him.

I blinked a few times so that the tears threatening to fall from my eyes would be stopped. I bit my bottom lip and hurried to grab a glass of wine for Selah Pumphrey, who had just sat down in my section. She’d been into the bar enough times with Bill during the past months that I knew her drink order without asking.

Of course, I avoiding the mirror behind the bar as I got the drink. I’d stopped looking in mirrors since the morning after Quinn and I’d had our final sexual encounter. That morning, I’d driven to Monroe and purchased the morning-after pill, though I knew that Gran would have disapproved of such a thing.

But I’d taken it, praying that I would stop a life from happening. However, the life had already taken hold within me; obviously, just one time with Quinn had been enough.

I’d contemplated abortion. I’d even gone to a clinic in Shreveport that performed abortions. In fact, I’d gone there twice! The first time, I managed to make it to the lobby before turning around and running back to my car. The second time, I couldn’t even pry myself from the car.

After hours of gripping my steering wheel and weeping in the parking lot of the gray building where the tiny embryo within me could be eliminated, I made the choice to keep my child—and to keep his or her paternity a secret. No matter what I had to do!

The child inside of me was innocent—conceived because I’d been too stupid to think about needing a condom.

Too stupid to use my telepathy to listen into Quinn’s thoughts from the start.

“Have you seen Bill?” Selah asked as I delivered her wine. “I was supposed to meet him here.”

I now cringed at the mention of his name—and at the sight of him.

“No. Sorry. I haven’t seen him in several days,” I reported. “Can I get you something to eat?”

“Is there gumbo tonight?” she asked.

Honestly, Selah had turned out to be really nice to me—after a couple of awkward weeks right after she and Bill had started dating. Her thoughts about me were generally compassionate, though they sometimes skewed toward pity. Still—her musings were better than I got from most people in town.

She certainly wasn’t a back stabber.

“Terry made shrimp gumbo,” I conveyed with a sincere smile. The veteran knew that I’d been craving shrimp during my pregnancy, and in the gumbo, the little shellfishes were thoroughly cooked, so they weren’t dangerous to me or the baby. Terry made a point to cook his gumbo at least once a week—and always when I was working.

“Can I get a bowl of that? And cornbread?” she asked.

“Coming right up,” I said before hurrying toward the kitchen window so that I could put in the order. As I waited for it, I made a quick round of my tables.

“You look tired,” Sam said as I went to the bar to get a second pitcher of beer for a man who seemed hell-bent on conducting a study of my ever-growing boobs.

I shrugged off Sam’s concern with a smile. “Well—I’ve got my little vacation starting tomorrow. I’ll be right as rain when I get back.”

I’d finally lied to Sam about my plans for my days off—since, during the previous weeks, he’d made excuses why he couldn’t give me three days off in a row when I told him that the queen wanted me to work for her. Thus, I’d invented the “vacation” with Claudine at a hotel/spa in Dallas. Claudine had even come into Merlotte’s to “confirm” the lie so that Sam would give me the days.

I sighed. I was tired of lies.

And even more tired of people trying to control my life.

Still looking concerned, Sam put a full pitcher onto my tray. I offered him a little smile. Other than the days off thing, he had been really decent to me when it came to scheduling. He had given me a lot of shifts during the past few months so that I could save money for the inevitable time when I wouldn’t be able to take any.

And I was appreciative for that.

But I wasn’t appreciative of his “disappointment” in me. He’d believed Quinn, and he judged me—even more harshly than the rest of the people in town in some ways—for being impregnated by an “anonymous” man. I suppose the pedestal he’d had me on caused me to topple a long way in his eyes!

Oh—and Sam also believed the rumors about my giving Quinn chlamydia!

And those things had made me disappointed in him!

Initially, I’d contemplated telling him the truth about the baby. But the nature of his thoughts had stopped me.

Yep. I’d finally become a telepath—after simply being one all my life. The Quinn lesson had been too hard of one to ignore, so I was listening to everyone nowadays. And—since Sam’s thoughts hadn’t been supportive from the start—I wasn’t about to confide in him!

It was just that simple.

In fact, I’d told only three people the truth about my child’s true paternity: Dr. Ludwig, Claudine, and Amelia. All of them had been enlisted in what I now knew was my most important job: making sure that John Quinn never found out that he was my child’s father.

Maybe I should have been ashamed of myself for my duplicity. But I wasn’t.

I’d learned that King Felipe de Castro was ambitious, and he clearly wanted me tied to Quinn—and thereby him—for life. And if I had never heard Quinn’s thoughts, I would have fallen nicely into the trap that had been set for me.

I’d liked Quinn—clearly showing that I was a horrible judge of character. I chuckled ruefully as I went to collect Selah’s food. Eric had been right. I really had needed to rethink all of the judgments that I’d made about people.

And, during the past months, I’d followed his advice.

Almost all of my “friends” had turned their backs on me when I became an unwed pregnant woman. Tara, whom I’d helped out with the Mickey situation only a few months before, wanted to distance herself from me because she was hoping to begin a relationship with JB du Rone, who was very conservative. Arlene had only horrible things to think about me nowadays. And Sam’s thoughts ranged from distaste to desire—the desire to possess me.

And those were my so-called friends.

Yes—Eric had been right. I really had been a simpleton when it came to choosing my relationships.

I took a deep breath as I delivered Selah’s order. “You need anything else right now?”

“No thank you,” she said, giving me a kind smile. “I’m driving, so I shouldn’t have a second glass of wine.” I listened to her thoughts. She was planning to leave me a big tip. Bill usually paid and was a strictly 10% tip man. Selah thought that was a little stingy and preferred 15% as her starting point for good service.

“Then I’ll bring you some water,” I smiled at her. I made sure to give her a slice of lime too—since she preferred that to lemon.

I sighed. Yep. Selah was proof positive that my initial reactions to people weren’t always right, and that’s why I no longer shied away from using my telepathy.

I had realized—finally—that it wasn’t a curse; it was a defense.

Undeniably, if I’d missed Quinn’s thoughts as he’d screwed me on that March morning, I would have remained ignorant about him.

It had only been my exhaustion—my inability to even try with my shields—which had given me insight into his mind. Had I learned of an “accidental” pregnancy with Quinn, I would have told him, and then he would have “done the right thing” by asking me to marry him. With Gran in mind, I would have “done the right thing” by accepting. I would have moved to Nevada. And de Castro would have been able to use me from then on.

And my child—if he or she was a telepath too.

As I completed another round of my tables on autopilot, I once again went over my plan for my time in New Orleans. After all, thinking about that helped me to focus on something other than all the unpleasant thoughts that I was being riddled with.

After three straight double shifts, my shields were non-existent—not that I was using them much anyway. Nowadays, I was too afraid to miss something to put them up most of the time. I was just glad that my baby hadn’t given me any morning sickness for the past week—though I’d quickly learned that pregnant feet were just going to be swollen feet—no matter what I did.

I looked around to see if any of my customers needed a refill, even though I knew that—except in Selah’s case—my attention to them wouldn’t affect the size of my tips, which had become “lesser” since my reputation had been ruined. It seemed that “pregnant crazy Sookie” was worth even less than plain old “crazy Sookie.”

Of course, as per my contract with Sophie-Anne, I had already been given ten thousand dollars for my upcoming job with her. And I would be working for her for three nights, so that meant fifteen thousand more once the job was done. Sadly, my bank account didn’t show the effects of my latest check—or my check from my work for Sophie-Anne the previous March. No. All that money had been immediately “eaten up” by unpaid back taxes and mortgage payments.

I hustled to refill Mrs. Fortenberry’s tea so she wouldn’t stiff me even the measly two quarters she usually left.

I’d known that Gran had taken out a partial mortgage on the farmhouse even before she’d passed away, and I’d managed to keep up the payments on it. However, after I’d deposited my check from my employment at the queen’s ball, I’d been visited by the bank manager. Since he had known and liked Gran, he’d let her get away with paying less than the full payments of the mortgage for years. However, that same deal was no longer being extended to me—especially given my apparent windfall. In fact, the bank manager had given me a deadline of December 1 to make up all of Gran’s owed payments and had ordered that I begin making the full monthly payments as well.

I’d learned from his head that his wife had convinced him that he shouldn’t continue to offer charity to a “sinful fangbanging whore” like me.

Needless to say, the next check I got would be absorbed by the bank too.

And the one after that.

And the one after that.

In truth, I’d thought a lot about just leaving Bon Temps. However—honestly—I didn’t have anywhere else to go. And it wasn’t as if I could sell the farmhouse in order to have start-up money in a new place. Too much was still owed on it. Plus, I was afraid that my baby would be telepathic. And I didn’t want to subject him or her to a larger city—where most of the jobs could be found—at least not until I could teach him or her to shield.

And then there was one more factor keeping me where I was: Eric.

Yes—because of Eric—I’d reexamined every choice I’d ever made and every relationship I’d ever had.

And I was now absolutely sure that I’d fucked up royally when it came to him.

I’d been unfair to him. I’d been hypocritical. I’d been untrusting.

I’d misjudged him.

I’d been a fucking fool.

And I’d been scared—frightened of every feeling he’d awakened inside of me.

So I’d lost him.

In the end, I’d deserved to lose him.

Again, I blinked away my tears by busying myself with my work, even though I was certain that I would never be busy enough to forget the loss of him.

However, I was also certain that Area 5 would be the safest place for me and my child—just as long as Eric was the sheriff of it.

I didn’t want to call upon him. I didn’t want to ask him for help. I didn’t think it was fair to do so. But I knew that—if I ever did call—Eric would help.

I knew that because I’d come to acknowledge a simple truth: he had truly loved me.

And not just “my Eric” either.

And—given that—I knew that Eric wouldn’t abandon me if I called him. He had too much honor for that.

However, despite my epiphany, I didn’t want to have to call Eric. I didn’t want to disrupt his life again. From what I could tell from the society pages, he and Olivia were still going strong.

And I couldn’t—wouldn’t—do anything to fuck up his life more than I already had.

He was better off without me.

A/N: Okie dokie. So—here you have it: Sookie post-Quinn. She’d hit rock bottom that morning she read his thoughts. And—in typical Sookie fashion—she came up with something of an unorthodox solution—the highlighted pregnancy test. From Quinn’s mind, she knew he “wanted” to wash his hands of his assignment regarding her anyway. And that morning was truly the first moment when she used her telepathy for HERSELF—even being deceptive as she did so.

And—yes—she did try the morning after pill, which likely would have “covered” the timing of her previous encounter with Quinn too; however, in this fictional world, I let Quinn’s sperm do its “job” during their first encounter, and I’m figuring that Supe genes change the equation anyway. I think it’s important that Sookie tried to use the pill, however. And—as for my choice not to have her get an abortion? In the end, it was Sookie’s choice. Given what we know about her, I actually see her as being “progressive” enough to be “pro-choice.” Or—at least—I don’t see her as being judgmental against those who choose abortion. But part of being pro-choice is being able to choose for oneself. And I could see Sookie agonizing over this decision. In the end, she chooses to have the baby, even though that choice is the harder one on her in a lot of ways.

Honestly, I don’t know what I would have done in her place.

Some of you wanted for the pregnancy to be faked-something to entrap Quinn or keep him away from Sookie. But-alas-it’s not. I wrestled with this part. To make her pregnant or not to make her pregnant became the question. In the end, I felt that the later part of the story was more interesting if she was pregnant. And I’d never written her pregnant like this before. I wrote her pregnant in an all-human story. And in the INNER-Verse, I am experimenting with fairy magic making a pregnancy possible. But in this story I wondered how the world around Sookie would view her if she got pregnant. And I asked myself a question: Given the fact that the people of Bon Temps already see her as “crazy Sookie”-fangbanger “extraordinaire”-how would they view her if she was suddenly going to be a mother?

I have to say that the town didn’t come through very well, but-then again-I have been to the deep South. Especially in small town, the South is a complicated place, and not all the people can be lumped into one category. Some of the people there are the nicest I’ve ever known. They are welcoming and bend over backwards in the name of hospitality. Some of socially progressive because of an ingrained sense of “rebellion” against the status quo. Some people are extremely accepting of all races, creeds, etc., especially in Louisiana, which includes the Cajun culture too. One of my half-sisters lived there for years, and I always enjoyed my time there. Heck-my dad was from Alabama, so I have family there too, family whom I love and appreciate. But-for some people in the South-once they get their teeth into something they “fear”-which would be Sookie in this case-they keep biting. And that’s just the truth. As unique as Lafayette was (before CH killed him off-growl), a gay black man wouldn’t have been the same kind of anomaly that Sookie was. She was the only one of her kind in a town that probably didn’t appreciate differences (given what we know of it). So-yeah-I see her road as a tough one to travel.

Some reviewers have also mentioned that Sookie should just leave Bon Temps. Honestly, a huge part of me agrees! And we actually see Sookie entertaining the notion here. She’s clearly given it thought, but—right now—the money factor is a huge issue. But—once she gets her house paid off? Who knows?

As for Sam and Jason? I honestly never know what I will do with them in a particular fic! LOL. I am inconsistent with whether they are “good” or “bad” because I am truly ambivalent about them. In the INNER-Verse, for example, it looks like both will turn out “good,” but—in this fic—Jason is definitely turning out “bad” and Sam is well on his way. Sorry about the inconsistency across my stories, but I let the situation dictate how they act. In the books (at least where I picked up in this fic), Jason seemed self-centered, immature, and very close-minded. Ironically, I think that—in the show—becoming friends with Andy was the “making” of Jason in some ways.

Anyway, enough rambling. And I hope I didn’t offend any Southern readers! Being from Oklahoma and being raised by a Southern parent, I have absorbed and appreciate many, many Southern traits. Others? Not so much. But I could say that of anywhere I’ve lived.

Poor Sookie. I’m just glad she had the sense to fake the pregnancy test so Quinn would have nothing to do with her.
Awful that it turned her into an even bigger pariah in Bons Temps too. Jason is a selfish hypocrite, if he were female he would be classed as the town bike.

Gosh…So Sookie is really pregnant!
I agree that she had a difficult decision to make: to keep or not to keep the baby, all I can say is Sookie is being very brave, not only she doesn’t have family or friends that supports her or a different economic situation I know that she will do her best to raise this child.
Jackie69

Well I can’t say I’m happy that Sookie had to end up pregnant. I’m having a hard time working up any sympathy for her at this point. Although Jason slapping her just made my blood boil. I can’t help but think that Eric would have ripped his hand off had he been there! I am glad she is finding some unexpected friendship with Selah. It’s hard to imagine Eric and Sookie finding their way back to each other, they seem so far apart at the moment but I have faith you’ll get us there.
Eventually!
Looking forward to hearing what Eric’s been up to and his take on Sookie’s situation.
Thanks for the two chapter day!

I hate to disappoint you about WYD?, but I haven’t been able to “get back into it” in a while. And that’s because it’s just gotta too long and complicated to deal with sporadically. I suppose that’s good and bad news. It’s good because I now see WYD as I longer piece than I’d initially intended. But I will need to focus on it so that I don’t forget what’s going on and so that I can write a consistent piece. And–since I’m working on two other longer pieces now–I’d go crazy if I started working on a third. So–sadly–that means that WYD will likely have to wait until either Earned or From the Inside Out is done. But the good news is that once I turn back to it, I’ll work on it consistently until it’s done. Sorry about that. 😉

Thanks! I tried to return to it to do a chapter about a month ago, but I found myself with TOO MANY ideas. LOL. And that’s a clear sign that I need to focus and develop. I suppose that having too many things I want to work on is better than having nothing. Right? 🙂

A Sookie who’s smart, even if it is a day late and a dollar short, is better than how she ended up in either the books OR the show!
I do agree with glamouredbyyou, we need an Eric POV chapter. I have a feeling that he’s keeping tabs on her, not just for QSA but for himself as well. He may have moved on, but I have a feeling he thinks of her just as much as she thinks about him.
I am Southern born, but I moved to Canada, wow it’s been 40 years ago on Monday! I was raised here. While I miss the closeness of family with it being just my brother and me here now (and we don’t have the greatest relationship), I have been grateful for it for many years now. You don’t see so much of the prejudicial thinking, the school system was better as is the health care system and the people can be just as friendly as anywhere else, or just as ignorant.
Living in Miniscule Town, Georgia (pop. less than 100 when we moved) I didn’t see a lot of it then either but I only had to pay a visit to family, go to the grocery store or school to see the prejudices at work.

Such a shame her epiphany only came after everything went to hell in a hand basket. And that house, holding on to a house in a town where you are so disliked and denigrated is pouring salt in the wound. What kind of life will her child have in a town where she is the town whore in everyone’s eyes?
I have to keep telling myself you have a plan for all of this and it is called Eric..would love to see him rain down on the “friends’ who have treated her so badly.

I am glad that Sookie has embraced her telepathy and is using it to HER advantage. The situation with Quinn was a HUGE slap in the face and she is definitely paying the consequences. However, I give a huge props for having the guts to let everyone believe she got a STD and ended up pregnant from a one night stand. It is also good that she has Claudine & Amelia in her corner, not to mention Dr Ludwig. As for Eric, she has finally figured out that he loved her with AND without his memories. Maybe it is time for a random meeting between the two. Perhaps he will have business with the Queen while Sookie is in NOLA. I am looking forward to Sookie’s convo with the Queen. I have a feeling she is going to be getting answers to, if not all, of those questions Eric told her she should ask. Thanks for the new chapters!

Wow! So now we know what it takes to smarten Sookie up enough to actually use her telepathy for her own good!
I’m bummed she’s dealing with this but she has to take some of the blame, fortunately she finally is seeing things realistically.
Not surprised Quinn acted like the scum he is by running his mouth off. Not exactly surprised at Sam’s reaction either. That’s what happens when you put someone up on such a high pedestal.

Well, Sookie’s right. She should have used birth control, but hindsight is 20/20, and she’s not the last YOUNG WOMAN to have ever made a mistake. Hell, most of us wouldn’t be here today if our parents hadn’t been so careless with their self control, let alone birth control. Naturally the narrow-minded, small town bigots won’t think of that. As for you remarks about the South, it’s not just there. There are hateful, mean-spirited, self-righteous hypocrites everywhere. It’s very sad. Please, enough with the “stupid” Sookie remarks, people! She’s barely an adult. She made a mistake with Eric, one she wholeheartedly regrets. She’s not the first to have ever made that mistake! He’s over 1,000-years-old and he gets none of the blame? Sookie gets it all for wanting what she had when he had amnesia? He’s so perfect that he can’t bend a little to try to help her with this? Try to see that she’s scared and scarred after Bill? If Eric can’t see any of that, he’s stupid. Nope, she’s stupid and it’s all her fault because at 25 with one relationship under her belt, she should know better. Right. None of you ever made mistakes when you were young? Those of you who are young are perfect? Let me know your secrets so I can pass them on to my own Sookies.
Terrific chapter again, Kat. You write great insight into the pain, confusion, frustration, and loneliness that this young woman is feeling over all that she’s going through with really no one there to whom she can reach out to for comfort when she really needs it, and she will need it. Her brother, the town manwhore, slaps her? Physically assaults her and is the last person who should be judging her, period. Arlene as well. Sam? What an asshole. The rest of them? Just what fucking century are they living in? I thought it was quite clever of someone who is supposedly so ‘stupid’ to come up with the idea of the highlighter to fake a false positive on a pregnancy test! Brilliant! (How creative! Where do you come up with these things?) I can’t wait to see how you work out the whole “scent” thing with the Supes, and how the contract work with QSA will turn out. The whole bond thing with Bill is so funny that I hope you keep that farce going for a while too. At least it gives Sookie something to laugh about!

I completely agree with you! Sookie has been manipulated by pretty much everyone close to her, it’s quite sad. Yes, people make mistakes and I certainly would not wish her circumstances on anyone. As much as she has been there for “single-mom” Arlene and even Tara, now they turn their backs on her; that’s typical with selfish people. With friends like that, it’s no wonder she was even with and trusted people like Quinn or Bill, and she didn’t trust Eric. He was the only genuine person (other than Gran) she has probably ever met and the entire time she was wondering, “What’s his angle, what does he really want from me?” Yes, he may not have told her everything, but what he did tell her was always the truth. Sadly, she couldn’t read his mind to figure it all out, so what did she do…she pushed him away. In fact, she’s still pushing him away; all-awhile she feels like she never did deserve him and still doesn’t deserve him. That’s what happens when you start to believe the awful things people say and think about you, eventually you start believing the evil they spew. She is the classic case of an emotionally (and even physically) abused person, made worse by her telepathy and hearing the unspoken words of others as well. The only way she’s going to go to Eric is if she has something major to offer him, information, or something that would protect him. Truly, she probably feels she can only prove herself worthy (of him) by helping him or saving his life. Hopefully he will help her along the way (somehow and not push her away) to recovery. I hope, like others in the world like her, that she will see the light and find her self-worth. She really is at rock bottom right about now and only she can help herself. Women of the south aren’t referred to as “steel magnolias” because of their beauty, but for their strength / resilience AND their beauty.
Excellent chapter Kat, can’t wait to read more!

Well, her plan worked but getting the ‘oops’ pill didn’t. Poo😯 Sookie is subjecting herself to the ridicule of Bon Temps just to keep out of DeCastro’s overly ambitious hands. Maybe finding another quiet place to live should be a goal for after the baby is born.

Poor Sookie, what a way to wake up and to finally use her gift for herself. She is so young. At least the Queen and Eric are watching out for her. Even Tara is pushing her away. I hope her secret never gets out. With all her hormones and hearing what people are thinking, I give her credit about how strong she is. Surprise she’s not crying all the time.

I love that the characters react differently in your different stories. One – it means that I never know what to expect (Selah is nice?! Whoa.) and Two – I think that a lot of these characters honestly could react in different ways depending on the situation. CH’s original portrayals of these characters were very inconsistent/ambiguous in their behavior, so it easily makes sense to see their reactions being different from story to story. As long as their reactions/behavior (well written emotional growth not withstanding) is consistent WITHIN the story then you’re golden. (And one up on TB and CH. lol.). Just don’t EVER make Quinn or Beehl the hero. 😜

I feel so sorry for Sookie that the morning after pill didn’t work and that Quinn is spreading such lies and that her “friends” are believing them. I’m glad to see her eyes have been opened though. I can understand her feeling stuck. She can’t sell the house because of the back taxes taxes and mortgage. (If you’ve ever sold a house, you know they ask you about whether it has any “liens” on it.). So, she can’t move without declaring bankruptcy. Although, honestly that may not be a bad way to go. She certainly wouldn’t be any worse off than she is now. That feeling of defeat and despair though, can be hard to overcome. It’s why people stay in abusive relationships. (And her relationship with that town definitely qualifies as one!)

I expect when she talks to QSA and finds out about ScumBeehl’s mission, that she’s going to feel even lower. Hopefully though, after hitting that bottom, she can start to pull herself back up. At least she’s started to use her common sense and realize who her true friends are. I can’t wait for more!

I hope when Sookie finds out the TRUE nature of SA’s orders and the way Beehl twisted those orders in order to possess her, she handles it better than CH’s crazy screaming fit on the streets of NO. Amelia’s bond breaking spell would never be more welcomed…or Eric’s knowledge of how to break the bond, for that matter. He did tell her after she broke it that there was a way out in SVM.
I like this S.A. and Andre. This is how I imagined them, down to your casting. Sookie once called them the world’s most lethal teenagers.
I say, throw Beehl and the kitty in the pits together. Winner gets…to face the Fae. Loser dies in the pit. Now that would be fun!

Sookie has definitely learned to be smarter here but I fear it was too late. I’m so upset about the pregnancy, not because you’ve added that plot point necessarily as it makes sense but because it is Quinn’s baby. That just turns my stomach. And is why I feel she learned her lesson too late. Thanks for the double chapter!

What they all said. Sookie screwed the pooch and has to deal with the repercussions. she will grow from this and be a better mom. as you said you have a plan for her and Eric and the baby and the house and i am looking forward to it all. KY

Sookie’s already being a good mom by making the best decisions for her baby. She may have made the wrong desicions with her relationships , friends and romantic otherwise but she finally coming around to the person she can and is going to be. Good for her. As for her and Eric , I feel if he’s is that happy he’s better off and so is she. I know your good at bringing them together but, I just hope she doesn’t feel like a second choice . I don’t know, I sometimes think her charcter always get the short stick while Eric stands strong with his viking sword. Lol.. neways can’t wait for more as always you, write a good story. 🙂

I can’t believe she is keeping the baby. A massive decision to make, but surely she will be found out and Quinn will be told he’s the father. THEN she will be unable to escape him or De Castro. She isn’t in a financial position to raise the baby without hardship and this will seriously stop her and Eric reuniting. Once Quinn finds out he’s the Dad, how will she avoid him, how will she stop De Castro trying to claim her and her child through some stupid Supe law that the child should be raised in Nevada because the father is there. Sookie has no self preservation and with this decision, she has only made her life worse because Nevada won’t stop until they have her and her child living in their state.

I love ‘What-If’ stories and life without Eric’s help for SVM Sookie is touching rock bottom fast… At least I hope this is rock bottom as I do feel for her…
I am pro-choice though I do understand someone not being able to go through an abortion even when circumstances are difficult… In this case however, geez… Sookie always was worried about passing her telepathy to a kid but now on top of that risk, she can pass Quinn’s shitty genes and worse, the possibility of that baby being claimed by Quinn not because Quinn would want anything from Sookie or her baby but potentially to further some agenday from de Castro?
I can’t wait to read Eric’s PoV… Not sure how much in love is he with Olivia even if he is ‘content’ but Sookie’s life is certainly a hot mess that most men would stay away from… Of course the Viking is anything but like ‘most men’… Also not like ‘most men’ but because he is a total piece of shit, Bill Compton… may he stay in the NOLA dungeons for years… in silver or some equally painful lining…

Wow, she’s pretty much fucked, isn’t she? And what an awful situation to give birth in! I mean, it’s hard enough having a baby as a single mom with no baby daddy in the picture, but to endure the ridicule of her “friends” and neighbors as well as the unfair practices of her bank? That’s just plain shitty…

In the end, I’d deserved to lose him. She definitely did deserve to lose him. I’m curious about Eric’s POV in all this especially the fact that he actually has a girlfriend, in 1000 years Eric never had a girlfriend until Sookie.

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Many thanks to Seph, who is a wonderful friend and provides so much art to this site!Many thanks to my wonderful and generous Beta! I couldn't do it without you!from Hisviks, the patient owner of BEEHL the cat